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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27915307">Facts</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/peculiva/pseuds/peculiva'>peculiva</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shameless (US)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ian Gallagher Loves Mickey Milkovich, Late night thoughts, M/M, Post-episode 1, Season/Series 11 Spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:27:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,319</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27915307</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/peculiva/pseuds/peculiva</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The ring is strangely bright in the dark room, glinting with the moonlight reflected by the simple whitegold band. He's beginning to miss it when he has to take it off to get through the metal detectors at work. He likes wearing it and he likes it when people notice.</p><p>It's proof. Visible proof that they've made it. That they are still here.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Facts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm somewhat frustrated with what we got so far so I tried to make some sense of it. A look into Ian's head after the conversation on the porch.<br/>Be warned, English ain't my first language so sorry for the mistakes bound to happen.</p><p>Also, I can't believe we got more sexy times between Kermit and Tommy this episode than meaningful scenes of Ian and Mickey.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It doesn't make sense. Yeah, sure it hurt when Mickey didn't flip that note around, claiming he'd misspelled the word and kept his fist closed tightly so Ian wouldn't see. Ian doesn't need to be a genius to know what was written on that piece of paper, and he wants to kick Mickey's ass for it, not in the good way.</p><p>They had a good time at Lip's. He'd managed to sneak the majority of Kev's pepperoni pizza he'd called dibs on, without Kev even noticing since he was too busy telling his daughters not to mess with the paint cans in the corner. Mickey smiled the whole night, joked around, even got oddly close to touchy.</p><p>Which is why he's lying here right now, awake in the middle of the night while Mickey's sleeping the sleep of the not-so-innocent, working himself up to an increasing level of questions, doubts and memories, trying to make them all fit in a picture and failing. </p><p> </p><p>It's all wrong. Mickey today doesn't match at all the Mickey who made sure nobody came closer than five feet when Ian used to dance for lecherous old freaks. </p><p>It doesn't match the hazy blur of a memory that is him coming home one morning and Mickey  sitting on the couch, looking like someone pissed in his morning beer. He asked where Ian had been, even though he knew, not the details but he knew enough. Ian's not too clear on the specifics anymore but he knows it was a shitshow. Next time they saw each other his siblings and Mickey picked him up from a precinct one state over and drove him straight to the looney bin. </p><p> </p><p>It's easier to ignore this kind of past most days. Not too hard anyway, with money fucking tight everywhere every day, it's pretty easy to live in the moment and if anything, focus on the future. That's what he was doing, thinking about the future, putting money aside where he could so him and Mickey could move somewhere else one day. Make something of their own. Now, he's wondering whether Mickey is jacking off thinking of other people. </p><p> </p><p>He runs a hand through his hair, sighing loudly into the cool air around them, thanks to the open window. It's frustrating. </p><p>Yes, communication is key or whatever the fuck, he gets the sense in that somewhat but honestly, it's fucking hard. It feels like he's doing all the work again.</p><p> </p><p>His breath stutters as he sits up, so abruptly his joints give a protesting pop at the sudden movement. He swallows as he turns his head, looking back at Mickey's sleeping form mostly hidden under the sheets. </p><p> </p><p>Again.</p><p> </p><p>Mickey today doesn't fit Mickey from the past at all, except that he very well does. </p><p>There were jokes about Angie Zago thrown around the Kash and Grab while they were stocking soup cans. There was Mickey getting his dick wet, not giving a fuck Ian was right there, watching him go up into the house to bang. Or claiming to do so.</p><p>There was Mickey scoffing when Ian had tried to talk to him about waiting for each other just last year. And then there was Mickey clinging to him right before he left, hugging him tightly enough to break ribs and Ian had known then. That Mickey would wait.</p><p> </p><p>The ring is strangely bright in the dark room, glinting with the moonlight reflected by the simple whitegold band. He's beginning to miss it when he has to take it off to get through the metal detectors at work. He <em> likes </em> wearing it and he likes it when people notice.</p><p>It's proof. Visible proof that they've made it. That they are still here.</p><p>Didn't look so good for a long time.</p><p> </p><p>Mickey is beautiful. The pale moonlight on his skin makes the contrast to his hair even stronger, his arm is laid out toward the other side of the bed where Ian laid just until a moment ago. His features are slack, the dark and most expressive eyebrows on the planet relaxed and at ease. Sometimes it's still hard to believe he gets to look at his man for the rest of his life. To have that security. </p><p> </p><p>Security.</p><p>On the outside Mickey's nothing but confident, all big swagger and foul attitude. It annoys the shit out of Ian and gets him going at the same time, and it never fails to make everyone around them believe Mickey's a mouthy hardass. Which he is, not arguing that, but what most people don't get to see is what Ian is looking at right now.</p><p>It's got better, Mickey letting his guard down around company that isn't Ian. It's sure as fuck milestones from where they started. </p><p>But he doubts anyone in his family knows what Mickey is really capable of. They know the facts, the basics of busting out of prison, going on a sex-filled road trip to Mexico. They know of Ian and Mickey playing house for a while with a hooker and a kid.</p><p>Ian has long learned not to try just facts when it comes to Mickey because facts don't exactly cover it. Explaining him and Mickey, that's like getting Frank to stop drinking, im-fucking-possible.</p><p> </p><p>There are some facts though. Some facts that leave a bitter taste on his tongue.</p><p>Like the fact that Ian shot a porno without a condom rather than going home to his boyfriend. Like the fact he didn't sign a marriage license after he was the one who proposed.</p><p>Like the fact he let himself get paid to visit Mickey in prison.</p><p> </p><p>"Will you? Wait?"</p><p>Ian had lied and they had both known it.</p><p> </p><p>So yeah, on the outside Mickey's nothing but confident. </p><p> </p><p>Mickey wondered why he couldn't be fucking dudes if his wife was doing it, while the bruise from the gun his father smashed into his head was still fading on his temple. He told Ian they could both bang other people once Ian got out, washing his hands at the steel sink and avoiding his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>He said love means taking care of each other, through good times and bad. All that shit.</p><p> </p><p>Ian did all the work. In the beginning. Because Mickey couldn't. </p><p>Mickey took over, when Ian no longer could and he kept working, pouring all of <em> himself </em>into the two of them when Ian was trying to convince himself he could become happy without love someday. He kept working when Ian let his insecurities get the better of him.</p><p> </p><p>Sitting in bed at three am, looking at the person he's come to think of as home, it's fairly simple.</p><p> </p><p>Mickey sometimes jolts awake with his fists rising above his head before he's fully there. He goes for cocky backtalk when things get heavy or flees the situation all together. It was different, for a while, until Ian made sure Mickey got some of those walls back up.</p><p>He shrugs dismissively, averting his eyes, whenever Ian makes him a compliment that isn't related to fucking.</p><p> </p><p>On the outside Mickey is nothing but confident. </p><p>Ian knows better.</p><p> </p><p>He settles back into the sheets and Mickey shuffles closer to him in his sleep within seconds. His warm hand brushes Ian's shoulder, grounding in a way that makes something ache in his chest.</p><p> </p><p>He turns onto his side so he's facing Mickey. He can feel slight stubble as he brings a hand to his cheek, runs his thumb over Mickey's eyebrow and while he strokes over his skin he realizes he's probably the only one who has ever got to see Mickey like this. </p><p>He's the only one Mickey feels safe to do this with.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>It's still going to be a lot of work. </p><p>But they have each other to work on it <em> together </em> and as he drifts off, Ian silently swears he's going to make sure Mickey knows it too.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just to spell it out right here, I'm blown away by how ooc Mickey was in this freakin' episode and this story is like the only explanation I could come up with to make it even remotely plausible what happened on that porch.<br/>Like, I could actually see Mickey writing down fucking other people because he's insecure after Ian brings it up and well, he's spent about the last six seasons chasing after Ian to simply be with him but I'm afraid this is not what the writers are going for.<br/>Seriously, I don't know what they smoked while writing this episode. Obviously it's stupid to get so worked up over this but honestly, this is just bad storytelling to the point it's even hard for a brilliant actor to fix it and it's not doing justice to an amazing character and development as well as the people who created him originally. And that's my tea for today.</p><p>Addition: I just saw that the author of this episode is John Wells so this is probably just a big fuck you to the fandom from the big boss himself.</p><p> </p><p>Any kind of feeback would be much appreciated, including roasting this :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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